Gaming Laptop - Specs, need help!

[dt3k]

Hey everyone, thanks for the help in advance, I'm pretty knowledgeable in terms of desktop gaming/computing but I'm lost in the laptop arena basically because I can't see how they preform in person as no one I know has a gaming laptop. Me and a buddy of mine are looking to pick up a pair of laptops for school/playing games on the down low while we are "pretending" to spend time with our girlfriends. (Looks over shoulder to make sure she isn't watching) We don't care to have the best performance just mid-range performance, we want to be able to play games like the new Warhammer Online game coming out on our laptops, I'm confused mostly about the mobile-gpu part, what mobile gpu is top of the line? which is midrange? Can anyone recommend me a couple of models that they think would play Warhammer Online or other games in that area fine?

We are looking to spend anywhere from $1,000 up to $1,700

thanks in advance!
dt3k.

 

[Ozymandias]

For a gaming laptop, I would recommend:
-1.8 Ghz+ dual-core CPU (I believe the Intel Core 2 Duos get better battery life)
-2 gigs of RAM, especially with Vista
-On the nVidia side, at least a 8600m GT (not the GS! It's way worse)
-On the ATi side, at least a Mobility Radeon HD 2600
-a 7200 RPM hard drive helps a lot with load times, but it'll drag down battery life

The cheapest place to get all of this would probably be the Dell outlet. If you prefer new, the Inspiron 1520/Vostro 1500 can be configured to come with the 8600m GT. Asus and other laptop manufacturers have laptops with these video cards that fit into your budget too (newegg.com is a good website to read reviews of these laptops). Good luck!

EDIT: Just for clarification, the video cards that I mentioned are both mid-range. Obviously, models with higher numbers, SLI, and XT designations are going to be faster.

 

[Battl3fr0nt]

Is the HD2600 and 2400 close to the same spec wise. I know someone with a 2400 in his VIsta laptop and it will not play any new type game's. I would say nothing less then a 8600gt. Im just not sure about ati anymore..

 

[Ozymandias]

Is the HD2600 and 2400 close to the same spec wise. I know someone with a 2400 in his VIsta laptop and it will not play any new type game's. I would say nothing less then a 8600gt. Im just not sure about ati anymore..

The Radeon 2400 is a large step down from the 2600, spec-wise. The 2400 has 40 stream processors, while the 2600 has 120. The 2400 is clocked at 450/500, while the 2600 is clocked at 500/600. As far as 3D Mark '06 goes (I know, canned benchmarks are the devil, but they are convenient) the 2400 scores around 1300, while the 2600 scores around 3100. The 8600m GT scores around 3200.

In general though, I would agree that ATi isn't doing so well this generation.

 

[nigerian_businessman]

Hello folks,
I know I'm new to the forums and all, but when I read this post it made me think of these great gaming notebooks at AVA DIRECT called CLEVO, for a notebook they look like they can haul some.
http://www.avadirect.com/plist.asp?keywords=clevo
AVA DIRECT is a highly rated custom shop
http://www.resellerratings.com/store/AVA_Direct
I'd give these things a look. With a 30 day money back guarantee, you can't go wrong. You can get some pretty sick custom paint on these too. Just thought this might help. Good to be on some forums where people seem so friendly and informed. Happy to be here

Stop trying to pass yourself off as just a new user dropping a helpful tip. Looking at all your other posts, its obvious that you're affiliated with AVA Direct somehow. Nothing particularly wrong with that, but it doesn't look good to not say so when you've obviously got something to gain by dispensing your 'helpful advice'.

 

[bildad]

Go on ebay and try to find a Dell 9400 with the 7900GT graphics card. It's faster than any of the current mobile 8800s or 2600. There's still some floating around out there and they're fairly cheap.